The Palestra, that ancient gym on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania, is a national treasure. And the City Series competitiin between the five
Big 5 schools– Villanova, Penn, Temple, La Salle and St. Joseph’s–has traditionallly been one of the great rivalries in college sports.
The Big Five tried to create some of that old magic again this week when it scheduled a doubleheader between La Salle and Temple and St. Joseph’s and Penn.
Most of the older generation, who grew up attending those historic doubleheaders in the 50s, 60s, 70s and the first half of the 80’s– appreciated the thought and former local players in attendance like John Baum, Jimmy Lynam, Lionel Simmons, Aaron McKie and Fran Dunphy who played there still had fond memories
But the idea appears to have fallen flat among the current students and administrators at those schools who have a limited sense of history or have lost interest following the schools they attend.if it means driving back into the city for a 6 p.m. tip and a five hour doubleheader.
Less than 5,000 were in attendance to watch Temple defeat La Salle, 67-51 and St. Joseph’s rally to defeat Penn, 85-80, in overtime, But the idea appears to have fallen flat among the current students and administrators at those schools who have a limited sense of history or have lost interest following the schools they attend.if it means driving back into the city for a 6 p.m. tip and a five hour doubleheader.
There were no streamers, no banners, limited student sections. the armosphere was stale.
“Since I’ve played, the landscape of college basketball has changed,” said Temple coach Aaron McKie, a 10 year pro from Simon Gratz who was a 1600 point scorer at his alma mater.
The Big 5 built its reputation with great local coaches and stars from the Public, Catholic Leagues, South Jersey and Delaware County who stayed home to compete up against the rest of the college basketball world.
Between 1954 and 1985, when the City Series games were moved from the Palestra to home sites– all five schools (La Salle, 1954 (pre-Big 5);, Temple, 1956 and 1958, Villanova, 1971, 1985, Penn, 1979; and St. Joseph’s, 1961), But the idea appears to have fallen flat among the current students and administrators at those schools who have a limited sense of history or have lost interest following the schools they attend.if it means driving back into the city for a 6 p.m. tip and a five hour doubleheader.
The dynamics of city basketball changed under Jay Wright and Villanova, who created separation between themselves and other Big 5 schools by winning two national championships and advancing to four Final Fours between 2009 and 2022. the Cats have one stretch where they won 25 straight City Series games
Local high school stars used to stay home and took pride in playing for their favorite city school. Now, they all for travel teams whose coaches push them to play at the highest profile school possible. The lack of local talent on Big 5 rosters has been noticeable and affected the success of the other four schools.
St. Joseph’s hasn;t had a winning record in seven years. Temple has only been to one NCAA tournament since 2016. Penn once since 2007; La Salle, once since 2002.
It may be past history, but it was part of my childhood and a big part of my early days as a sportswriter.
With that in mind, here’s a history lesson of games played in this historic building. ,
Best coach: Jack Ramsay of St. Joseph’s.
Best non-Big 5 game; Jimmy Lynam’s pass to Jim Boyle in the last seconds leads St. Joseph’s to a 58-57 upset of a third-ranked Bowling Green team with Nate Thurmond and Butch Komives, first round of 1962 Quaker City tournament.
Best Big 5 game: Bench warmer Steve Donches makes a buzzer beater to give St. Joseph’s a 71-69 victory over Villanova in 1966. .
Best performance by a visiting player: Calvin Murphy goes for 52 against La Salle, 1968.
Best performance by Big 5 player: La Salle’s Kenny Durrett goes for 46 points against Western Kentucky and Jim McDaniels 1971, Close second: Ed Pinckney goes for 27 and 22 to outplay Patrick Ewing as Nova upsets the Hoyas, 68-67, in 1983.
Best year 1971. Villanova, Penn and La Salle all had legitimate shots to win the natonal championship.
Most anticipated game: La Salle vs. Villanova, 1969. Two Top 10 teams fueled by sophomore stars Durrett and Howard Porter. Both shined, but the Explorers had the better team (four NBA/ABA players), winning 74-67, in front of an SRO crowd.
Biggest Feud. Penn vs. Villanova, 1969.Cats were a Top 10 team playing against a young Penn team led by sophomore guards Dave Wohl and Steve Bilsky. Quakers, coached by Dick Harter, slowed the game down pre shot clock and Bilsky hit a 25 foot bomb at buzzer to give them a 32-30 that create an an antagonism that lasted until Villanova defeated an unbeaten Penn third-ranked team, 90-47, in 1971 NCAA Eastern Regional finals.
Best backcourt: Guy Rodgers and Hal Lear Temple, 1956. Rodgers is only Big 5 player in Naismith Hall of Fame. Lear was MVP of Final Four that year after scoring 48 in third place win over SMU.
Favorite Player: Jimmy Lynam, St. Joseph’s.
